Scarlett Rose's Arc

Chapter 41 of 57

Scarlett stood in front of the mirror in the bedroom, holding the lace bodice against her chest. The gown was open down the back. Twenty small buttons and a hidden zip ran from her tailbone to her shoulder blades. She could reach the bottom three. She could not reach the rest. Her belly pushed the front of the dress out in a soft curve, and her arms would not bend the way they used to. She tried again. She got two more buttons. Her fingers cramped. The veil sat on the dresser next to the diamond earrings and the bouquet of blue roses and purple lilies Rose had cut that morning. The clock on the wall read ten past eleven. The ceremony started at noon. Rose had run to the pavilion an hour ago to check on the chairs and had not come back. "Rose." Scarlett said it to the empty room. She lowered her arms. She could not do this alone. She could call Maya, but Maya was at the pavilion with the folio and the sealed deed and could not leave the ceremony table. She could call Clayton, but Clayton could not see her before the aisle. She sat on the edge of the bed carefully, holding the front of the dress up with one hand. Sweat gathered at the small of her back. The babies shifted. She breathed slow and counted to ten. The front door banged open. Boots hit the floor. "Don't sit down, don't sit down, you'll wrinkle the train." Rose came through the doorway out of breath, turquoise earrings swinging, a clipboard under one arm. "The chairs are set. Aunt Lorraine is crying already. Stand up." Scarlett stood. Rose dropped the clipboard on the dresser and moved behind her. "Hold the front," Rose said. "Chin up. Breathe in." Scarlett breathed in. Rose worked the zip first, easing the fabric together above the curve of the belly, then started on the buttons from the bottom. Her fingers were fast. She had done Scarlett's prom dress. She had done their mother's funeral dress. She did not talk while she worked. At the top button she smoothed the lace across Scarlett's shoulders and stepped back. "Turn." Scarlett turned. Rose looked at her for a long second. Her eyes went wet and she blinked it off. "Veil," Rose said. She lifted it from the dresser and set the comb into Scarlett's hair. She handed her the bouquet. "You have eight minutes. Truck's running." Scarlett looked in the mirror. The dress fit. The train lay clean behind her. Her hands were shaking around the stems. "I couldn't reach," she said. "I know," Rose said. "That's my job today. Walk." Scarlett walked. Rose held the train off the floor behind her, and they went out to the truck together.